Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Southern Highland Craft Guild's makers forge ahead with education

Makers of the
Southern Highland Craft Guild are preparing for the launch of their 2017
special event programming at the Folk Art Center with the second annual Glass and Metal Day.

On Saturday, April 1, nearly
fifteen Guild members will showcase their skills and techniques of glass and
metal in the auditorium of the Center. From 10am to 4pm, these
masters will be blacksmithing, glass blowing, piercing and soldering metals,
knife making, bezeling, repoussé, copper etching, assembling stained glass,
forging and many other manipulation processes. As a non-profit organization,
the Guild provides experiential learning opportunities for the public to
cultivate awareness of both handmade and craft.

Long-time
member Blenko Glass
Company will be participating this year with special appearance of Mr.
Walter Blenko himself, current President of the company. The founder's grandson
will be located in the Folk Art Center's lobby at the entrance of the
auditorium to sign pieces made from Blenko. Patrons and customers are invited
to bring their pieces from home to have him etch the glass from 10-4pm. Located
in Milton, West Virginia, Blenko Glass Company has been in business since 1893.
Member
Ruthie Cohen will be one of several jewelers working with
precious metals as she bezels and forges them into fine adornments. Cohen is an
advocate of craft education as teaches at her Mountain Metalsmiths School of Jewelry & Lapidary in
Arden.Visitors
will have the opportunity to watch and learn more about two of the original
craft media. Glassblower Michael Hatch of Crucible Glassworks
will be using a small kiln to exhibit the quick thought process of blown glass.
While Laurie Young and Christian Arnold of Australian Art Glass will
demonstrate fusing and torching glass into ornate, decorative pieces.The
Guild's education series of events are a significant channel that members
use to explain their creative process. Providing craft consumers with knowledge
and the story behind their investment is an equally important part of the
Guild's mission to the buying public. For a
complete list of artists participating in Glass & Metal Day, and to learn
more about Southern Highland Craft Guild programs at the Folk Art Center call 828-298-7928 or
visit www.craftguild.org.
Admission to Glass & Metal Day and the Folk Art Center is free. The
Folk Art Center is located at Milepost 382 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in east
Asheville. Headquarters to the Southern Highland Craft Guild, the Center also
houses three galleries, a library, a craft shop and a Blue Ridge Parkway information
desk and bookstore.